Rummel spies its way to first state football championship

Rummel captures its first football state championship Saturday with a 35-14 win over Barbe. (Chris Granger, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

It is called “Patriot Three Spy.’’

Starring in the role of James Bond in Rummel’s historic 35-14 victory against Barbe Saturday night was Joshua Franklin, a pseudo-weak side linebacker/safety. It was Franklin’s mission to shadow or “spy’’ as it is commonly referred in football, on Buccaneers quarterback Kennon Fontenot in the second half of the Class 5A state championship game.

The results proved spectacular as the Raiders expanded a 13-7 halftime advantage into a fourth-quarter jailbreak and three-touchdown victory that produced the Metairie school first state title in 49 years of playing football.

Strong side linebacker Terrance Jones was Rummel’s first-half spy on the mercurial Fontenot before Defensive Coordinator Eddie Jaquillard opted at intermission to switch to the speedier and more fleet-footed Franklin as the Raiders’ double-naught agent and utilize Jones in the defense’s umbrella pass coverage of five underneath and three deep.

“I think the key was we actually covered pretty well and when (Fontenot) started moving around that’s when the spy went and tackled him,’’ Jaquillard said Monday. “It’s a pretty simple concept. We put Terrance back in coverage and we let Josh run (Fontenot) down because Josh has as good of wheels as (Fontenot) does. I think that was critical, particularly that we covered fairly well.’’

Fontenot was held to 167 passing yards while completing 13-of-26 attempts and being intercepted by cornerbacks Austin Vance and Henre’ Toliver to end Barbe’s final two possessions.

Middle linebacker Michael Kennedy also had a key strip on a potential fourth-down completion to LSU-bound tight end Desean Smith that deprived the Buccaneers of a first down and turned the ball over to the Raiders at their 43-yard line on the possession prior to Vance and Toliver’s interceptions.

Fontenot entered the game having passed for an average of 294.2 yards and more than three touchdowns a game and just one week earlier had engineered four fourth-quarter touchdown drives to rally the Buccaneers from a 27-point deficit to a 49-48 state semifinals victory against defending state champion West Monroe.

The secondary in Rummel’s “Patriot Three Spy’’ look against the Buccaneers had Toliver, Vance and safety Dwyane Eugene lined up as three deep across with strong safety Damarius Crawford and cornerback Dontrell Bennett joining Kennedy, Jones and Franklin in the five-man umbrella coverage underneath.

Moses recorded two of the five sacks of Fontenot, Bennett had one, Cethan Carter, the team's starting tight end, who saw snaps on defense, had one and Thomas and Killian shared a sack. Franklin and Jones each recorded a team-leading six tackles, with all six of Franklin's being individual tackles, while Kennedy and Thomas had 5.5 tackles apiece.

“Our defensive line also played pretty well,’’ Jaquillard said. “We didn’t always spy the guy. Sometimes we just rushed three and coverd with eight. We were covering five with eight. You don’t get much pass rush when you rush with three, so you better cover well.’’

ATTENDANCE ZONE: Two-day attendance for the LHSAA-State Farm Prep Classic presented by The NOLA Media Group was 47,787, according to LHSAA officials. Saturday’s triple-header drew 32,740 following a Friday twin bill that attracted 15,047.

CLASSIC FIRST: The respective victories by Rummel, Parkview Baptist, Curtis and Ouachita Christian in Classes 5A, 3A, 2A and 1A marked the first time that four private schools won state championships in the same Prep Classic. Private schools had won three championships in six previous Prep Classics in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2011. Not surprisingly, Curtis, with 25 state titles, was involved in all seven.

METRO MARK: Rummel, Karr and Curtis’ respective victories against Barbe, Neville and Evangel gave the New Orleans Metro area three state champions for just the second time in the 42-year history of the Prep Classic. Ehret, Curtis and Port Sulphur initiated the feat in the inaugural Classic in 1981.

“What a tremendous accomplishment for the Karr Cougars and I’m certainly proud of our team and I couldn’t be any prouder for the Rummel Raiders and the way they reacted,’’ Curtis Coach J.T. Curtis Jr. said in his role as co-host and analyst on ABC-TV 26’s Friday Night Football. “(Rummel) holding that Barbe team to that few of points, that was the difference in the game in my opinion.’’

HUMBLING: Karr’s Jabbar Juluke spoke for coaches everywhere after winning his first state title as a head coach via a 29-22 victory against Neville. “It’s very humbling,’’ Juluke, who directed the Cougars to three consecutive Prep Classic appearances, said. “It’s an experience that I think every coach should get to experience at some point in their career. I’m very humble just to have been able to come here three times in a row and now finally the third time was the charm. I’m just excited for my kids, for the coaching staff and for the community of Algiers along with the Edna Karr family for supporting us. We just completed the mission this year and I’m very proud of that.’’

ALL IN: In speaking to his team about its third opportunity at making history, Juluke said, “We told our kids all week that losing was not an option. We had to fight and we had to leave everything on the field. And if we needed to be carried off of the field, that would let me know that we were playing our best football, that we were exhausted and that we went after it 100 percent.’’

PLAYING IN PAIN: Junior wide receiver Steven Dunbar was another unsung hero for the Raiders. Dunbar was not expected to play due to a dislocated shoulder he incurred in the team’s 17-14 semifinals victory against Mandeville. Dunbar scored the game’s first touchdown on a 12-yard completion from Damian Williams en route to catching six passes for 119 yards. Dunbar also had key receptions of 34 and 38 yards in separate scoring drives that resulted in touchdown runs by Keith Fulton, along with a two-point conversion catch from Williams that figured mightily in building a 28-14 lead.

Dunbar’s subluxation injury initially was reported as a broken collarbone and then as a separated shoulder.

“It was a dislocation,’’ Rummel Coach Jay Roth said of the injury that will not require surgery. “And it was put back in place.’’

Roth informed the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Dunbar that he had to practice by Wednesday in order to play in the championship game.

“I told Steven that he had to practice by Wednesday, otherwise we had to go with someone else,’’ Roth said. “So he gutted it out on Wednesday and showed that he could catch the ball. He couldn’t block, but we didn’t want him to block. He showed a big heart Saturday night and gutted it out, grimacing.’’

UNSUNG II: Roth additionally lauded the performance of senior left guard Zack Bernard for the blocking his 5-foot-9, 180 pounds supplied as the Raiders rushed for 181 yards and averaged 4.8 yards on 38 attempts.

“You don’t see a lot of 180-pound guards playing at the 5A level,’’ Roth said. “Zack is undersized, scrappy, scrawny, really, but he plays with a lot of heart and is determined to get the job done. If you look at him he may not look the part, but he played well. He did a great job.’’

WORTH REPEATING: “Are we the No. 1 team in the nation? I have no idea. But I’ll take you over anybody else!’’ – J.T. Curtis Jr. speaking to his team following its 35-13 victory against Evangel.

GROUNDED: As he has all season and every season, Rummel’s Roth drove Rummel’s lead school bus to the Superdome. Not exactly a sight you’d see with say a Don Shows of West Monroe. The Raiders’ two other team busses were piloted by assistant coaches Joey Boh and Nick Monica while Jaquillard drove the equipment truck.

“When I pull into certain stadiums and parking lots, people are kind of surprised to see the head coach driving the bus,’’ Roth said. “But it’s actually something I enjoy doing. I look forward to driving our yellow busses into the Superdome parking lot.’’